Applying for higher education

To be able to study at a Swedish university or other Swedish higher education institution, certain requirements for prior knowledge need to be met.

Admission requirements

This prior knowledge is divided into:

• basic entrance requirements, common to all higher education, and
• special entrance requirements, stipulating the specific requirements in addition to basic entrance requirements that are needed to be able to benefit from a particular higher education programme.

More information on basic and special entrance requirements can be found on the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education website and on the studera.nu website.

Selection

When the number of eligible applicants is greater than the number of places, applicants undergo a selection procedure. Selection is made on the basis of grades from upper secondary school (or its equivalent), the results of the national university aptitude test (a voluntary test measuring knowledge and skills of importance in higher education studies) and of selection criteria determined by the higher education institution.

Admission

Admissions to programmes and courses at universities and higher education institutions are coordinated by the National Agency for Services to Universities and University Colleges (VHS). Information on higher education and the possibilities of applying for higher education in Sweden can be found on the studera.nu website.

In addition to grades and the national university aptitude test, special examinations are sometimes used when selecting students for certain programmes, such as medical training or teachers eduction and some programmes in the arts. Examinations may be given after special authorisation from the National Agency for Higher Education.